This is a well made and decent beer but is not a doppelbock. Or rather I should say does not taste like one at all. It smells a bit like one but the taste is something else. There's some coffee and some kind of sweetness that isn't the usual kind of saturated cereal taste. In a blind taste I'd never have guessed doppelbock - maybe some kind of winter seasonal. Another CCB draught find that doesn't measure up to their great reputation.

Being from New England (w/ lots of great micro-brews), my brother proudly took me to Cigar City Brewing in Tampa Florida. And I must say I was very impressed with both the quality and the number of excellent craft-brews on tap. The organization is very well run, and I fully expect to find their beers in the New England region in the near future ( I can see them expanding nationally).I started with a taster rack of Jai Alai (IPA), Resonator Double Bock, El Lector English Style Dark Ale, and the Puppy Breath Porter. All were excellent.

Had the Resonator Doppelbock in a small 4oz tasting glass.

Appearance:darker brown

Smell:sweet malty smell

Taste:Not a big fan of the Doppelbock (Double Bock). They tend to be bit too sweet for me. However, I found this one quite palatable. Like the smell: malty notes. Sweeter then the other beers I was comparing it to, but less so than other dopplebocks

MF:a little effervescence, appropriate for this beer. medium body

Overall:A very good Doppelbock. Prefer it over Sam Adams Double bock. Think it is on par with the Calibrator Double Bock from Germany. Unfortunately my mediocre scores are more based upon my preferences for other beer styles. But if you like Double Bock's, definitely try this beer.

On tap at CIgar City on 05 Dec 2012. I'm reviewing this from my notes that were written when I was drinking this fine beer. They served it to me in a CC snifter. An odd choice for a Doppelbock, but I'm OK with it.

It appears to pour a thick midnight black color, but when held into the light, I saw that it was more of a deep dark chocolate brown with plenty of dark crimson highlights in the middle of the beer. Gotta love the highlights! On top was a short lived 3/4 of an inch dark tan head of foam. Even though it was short lived, it managed to leave behind a decent sized string of rings along the edge.

The aroma screamed Doppelbock. It was roasted with a subtle sweetness back drop. The front roasted element consisted of dark roasted malt, dark roasted coffee beans, and a hint of dark chocolate. The second half was that of raisins, a drop of molasses, a subtle whiff of olives, and a pinch of burnt brown sugar. Pretty much a standard a Doppelbock aroma. I couldn't find any problems with the aroma. Olives were a little weird, but I was OK with it.

The taste was dry and roasted like a good Doppelbock should be. I'm so glad that it wasn't so dry that it gave me cottonmouth. The taste was roasted with dark roasted malt, dark roasted coffee beans, bitter dark chocolate, raisins, and a gentle taste of burnt brown sugar at the finish. I would have liked a tad more sweetness at the end, but it's fine where it is.

A medium bodied Doppelbock with a good roasted aftertaste. Very little if any sweetness in the aftertaste. The aftertaste consisted of only dark roasted malt, roasted coffee beans, and some bitter dark chocolate. This straight up roasted aftertaste stuck around for a few minutes. Once it really warmed up, you can briefly taste the alcohol.

It's a very well done Doppelbock. More sweetness would have done this beer some justice, but as is, it's a nice roasted Doppelbock. Would I drink it again? Yeah, I would. I'm glad that I got to try Cigar City's answer to the Doppelbock style.